Johannesburg, 22 January 2026 — KPMG's Global tech report 2026 reveals that organizations worldwide are moving beyond pilots and seeking to embed AI into core workflows and offerings, striving to scale investments. The new report identifies that while expectations are high and adoption is rapid; scaling can introduce additional complexity and returns vary widely.

• 68 percent of organizations surveyed aim to reach the highest level of AI maturity by the end of 2026, yet only 24 percent are there today.
• 88 percent are investing in building agentic AI into their systems.
• 74 percent say their AI use cases are delivering business value, but only 24 percent achieve ROI across multiple use cases.
• 90 percent plan to grow partnerships and tech ecosystems over the next year, yet 53 percent still lack the talent needed to bring their digital transformation plans to life.
• 78 percent agree they must take more risks on emerging technologies to stay relevant.

The report asks: Can ambition match reality, and can organizations keep one eye on the next wave of innovation while delivering on today’s agenda?